


my runaway love

by bbyhjuns



Category: Cravity (Band), Produce X 101 - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:29:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29903904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbyhjuns/pseuds/bbyhjuns
Summary: rich and ceo-to-be jungmo meets wonjin, a high school dropout and an orphan and they fall in love. but social constructs forbid them from dating, so what else can they do? runaway.inspired by all time classic, love story by taylor swift.
Relationships: Ham Wonjin/Koo Jungmo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	my runaway love

**Author's Note:**

> this is the most i've written for a one-chaptered fic and i spent almost a month on this and it turned out as beautiful as i wanted it to be. i hope you enjoy reading as much i enjoyed writing this!

shimmering lights, glass champagnes and tuxedo suits. there's an air of superficiality in the hall on this very night as people clanked their glasses together, putting on a fake smile to impress one another.

jungmo sits on the red satin chair by the corner, his index finger tracing the ring of the glass he held in his hand. now used to this reoccuring environment, he simply sighs and leans back on the chair, eyes scheming the crowd of people. unconsciously, he rolls his eyes and lets out another sigh.

_get me away from here._

jungmo curses as he feels a tightness in his chest again - the frustration never ends here.

a middle aged man, poshed up in a suit, slowly approaches him, a look of disapproval on his face. jungmo sighs as soon as he sees the familiar figure. putting his glass down by the nearest table, he then stands up and slightly bows to the man, "good evening, father"

his father simply shakes his head and roughly swipes off the sides of jungmo's suit before adjusting his collar, "this is not how you present yourself well here, young man. follow me now i need you to meet someone important"

without batting an eye at jungmo, he simply turns around and walks firmly. like a sheep, jungmo doesn't have a choice but to follow him.

he's been doing this for the past 20 years of his life anyways, what else did he know?

as soon as jungmo enters the room, he observes the other middle aged couple sitting around the table together with a young man - probably their son. with her permed hair and laced skarf, the lady gave a small giggle as soon as she saw caught eyes with jungmo. now that he understood the situation, jungmo knew what to do; what he had been taught all along - he gave a formal bow, a polite smile and held his hand out to greet every single one of the new faces.

"what a sweet, young son you have, mr koo!" the lady makes a comment, gaining a look of appraisal from his father. jungmo simply smiled in return, but the frustration within him growing even more.

jungmo finds himself blanking out as soon as the adults start talking. all of the words seem like gibberish to his ears anyways - it wasn't anything he is interested in, and he never will be. 

except he's always been forced to do them, under the wishes of his father.

"so, mr jungmo, what do you say?" the lady asks, breaking him away from his thoughts.

he immediately bows his head slightly and replies in his sweetest tone, "sorry, pardon me, i didn't catch that" 

the lady simply laughed and shook her head before repeating herself, "what do you think of tutoring my dear son here, i heard you came in top in school in high school"

jungmo glances over to the boy sitting opposite him who looked equally as tired, then to his father, who gave him stern eyes. no matter what jungmo thinks about this matter, his father already had an answer for him.

he takes in a deep breath then flashes a big grin towards the lady and the boy, "sure, it'd be my pleasure"

he hears his father heave a breath of relief from beside him. they then continue talking and eating their now stone cold dishes, jungmo's head fading away in the cloud the more time passes.

giving one last bow, jungmo greets the other family goodbye as he stands with his arms behind his back beside his father. as soon as the car leaves, his smile instantly drops. 

"i'm glad you know your place today. thanks to you we have a great deal coming up" his father says to him, giving him a pat on the back.

jungmo doesn't say anything as his face remains stoic, his eyes now looking away. instead, he then apologises, "i'm sorry, i will be back a little late today", before running down the stairs and away from the hall, unsure of where he was even going.

now, all the pent up frustration and anger has finally reached its limits as jungmo found his tears rolling down his face without even knowing. 

this night's encounter was just one of the many thousands he's felt like for his whole life - the picture perfect life that his father had always painted for him, his actual life was far from that. apart from feeling like a puppet, jungmo didn't feel love growing up at all. it was always all about his father, his family business and how he portrayed himself. 

it was never about jungmo. it has always been "mr koo's son, jungmo"

this very night's incident just reminded jungmo of every single thing and how pathetic he felt his life was - which was why he is trying to run away now, though very sure that he had no where else to go.

he squats down to the ground on the deserted pathway and hugs his legs, trying to take in the menacing silence. however, the sound of an engine starts approaching from afar and soon the bright light starts to come closer.

the next thing he knew, he feels a gush of air and the smell of patrol hitting him in the face, causing him to choke. beside him stood a red and black motorbike and a man in a motorbike helmet.

"what are you doing out here, stranded?" the man calls out from his helmet, muffled. jungmo quickly stands up and brushes the dust off his suit, squinting his eyes to try to make out the man's face. 

when he didn't reply, the man swiftly removes the helmet then repeats the question again, "i asked, what are you doing here late at night? you need a ride?" 

jungmo immediately takes notice of the man's hair - bright purple strands of highlight swimming within a pool of light brown. he wore a leather jacket, silver chains on his ear and ripped jeans. in contrast to jungmo's whole outfit, this man looked the total opposite.

the man waves his hand in front of jungmo's face when he doesn't reply, a frown appearing on his face. 

jungmo then immediately processes what is happening. quickly, he shakes his head.

the man simply crosses his arms, raises his eyebrows and asks again, "you still haven't answered my question yet though, what are you doing here late at night?"

this time, jungmo actually hears the question and he purses his lips before replying, "oh nothing, came out for a walk"

he sees the man scoff as he eyes jungmo up and down, "taking a walk in a suit and dress shoes? doesn't sound right to me"

jungmo looks down to examine himself, then laughs at himself internally - the man was right, this didn't make sense at all.

the man then rumbles through the storage compartment of his bike before passing a bottle of water to jungmo and a packet of tissues.

he then leans on his bike and pats the space beside him, nudging jungmo to join him.

"must have been a tough night, huh?" 

this sentence takes jungmo by surprise but he gladly accepts the water and tissues. he then widens his eyes in realisation when he suddenly realises why the man just did that - his face was now a mess from all the crying.

but he doesn't say anything. he takes a sip out of the bottle, staring off into space.

"this might sound crazy, but you wanna talk about it? it's better than keeping everything in" the man continues, now eyes filled with tenderness. though he looked and was dressed so rough, he was still able to exude a certain sense of warmth to jungmo.

jungmo takes a deep breath in before replying, "it sucks when you're not living your life for yourself but for someone else. and you can't do anything about it"

the man nods, waiting for him to continue.

"and it's been this way all my life. i feel so suffocated..." he sighs, lets out a sigh then looks at the man, "i'm sorry.. maybe i shouldn't ramble on"

instead, the man shakes his head and grins at him - a small subtle, but warm smile, "no, go on, i'm all ears"

with that sentence, all of the emotions come gushing out from jungmo again, and he found himself telling all of his problems to a complete stranger the next few minutes. the man, watching him with the softest of eyes, did not say a word but simply listened attentively to jungmo, providing him with the listening ear he's never had in his life.

after he is done with his emotional outpour, jungmo stops to bury his face in his palms, both from sadness and embarrassment. 

the man then puts his arm around his shoulders, patting him on the back, "but i think you're brave, you're so strong for holding out until today"

with those words, jungmo's tears come falling down again, and soon he finds himself in the embrace of this stranger.

how weird is it, that jungmo is finding comfort from a stranger? and how pathetic he felt, having to reside in this stranger just because the four walls at home couldn't. 

"this might sound crazy but, my place's free for the night so if you don't want to go back, you can stayover" the man then continues to say. then immediately, he panicks and continues, "i swear i'm not kidnapping you or anything i just hope i can help-"

jungmo lets out a laugh at this sentence, and quickly, the man stops. a smile appears on his face next when he notices jungmo smiling too - the first time he has smiled on this night.

"sure" jungmo replies without a thought.

now calmer and in a lighter mood, he then holds up his hand and smiles, "jungmo, koo jungmo by the way"

the man grins, grabs jungmo's hand and replies, "ham wonjin"

\------

jungmo lifts up the picture frame by the table: a young boy dressed in raincoat posing for the camera with the brightest smile on his face. he observes the photo then unknowingly smiles to himself.

_wonjin sure hasn't changed one bit_

he then looks around the small but cosy room. equipped with the most basic essentials and nothing more, wonjin's little apartment was simplistic and surprisingly neat. on the clothes rack sat a row of black clothes, all of different cutting and styles. 

his attention then shifts to the necklace hanging on the tableside wall. shiny and bright, the small little crystal stands out amidst the dull colour of the wall and gently, jungmo lifts the necklace up to observe how pretty the crystal looks.

"good morning-" he hears wonjin call out from behind, but as soon as he sees jungmo touching the necklace, he races up towards him to snatch it away.

jungmo, now shocked, immediately apologises. wonjin then sighs and shakes his head, "i'm sorry, i shouldn't have... this necklace just means a lot to me"

jungmo then remembers that he had seen wonjin wearing the necklace just the night before. he then shakes his head and apologises once more, "no i'm sorry, i shouldn't have touched your things without permission"

wonjin then brushes it off and walks to his mini refridgerator to observe its empty insides, "i don't have much here... and i usually don't eat breakfast..."

jungmo then lets out a chuckle and shakes his head before popping his phone up, "we can call in, i'll treat. take this as a thanks for last night"

\------

wonjin stares in awe at the array of dishes sitting in front of his eyes. the last time he had a feast this big, he was only a child. what's more, to eat so many things for just a simple breakfast, he couldn't believe it.

"how much did this cost..." he blurts out, still unable to believe his eyes. jungmo looks at him puzzled, then shakes his head, "you don't need to know. now please enjoy"

jungmo then watches as wonjin scoops a portion of every dish to his plate like an excited little child. with every bite he took, his eyes only grew wider, as though he hasn't eaten in years. 

it was also at this moment where jungmo realised how the small things he had always taken for granted in his life could be worth so much happiness to someone else. 

"anyways... about earlier, i'm sorry, i hope i didn't scare you" wonjin says in between bites. jungmo looks at him confused, then remembers about the necklace incident which he had long forgotton about.

"nah like i said, i should be the one who is sorry"

wonjin smiles, puts his spoon down and then proceeds to say, "actually, this necklace is the very last thing i have from my mom, that's why it means so much to me"

jungmo's heart immediately softens.

"she left this with me before she passed on and it's been my lucky charm all these while"

jungmo notices the same soft look in wonjin's eyes again - the same ones that looked at him last night. instintively, his hand reaches forward to hold wonjin's. 

"and i'm sure she's still looking after you in a better place right now" 

wonjin flashes a smile at those words, then takes a deep breath before continuing to eat his deluxe of a breakfast, earning a smile from jungmo in return.

with that, the two spent the next few hours getting to know more about each other. what puzzled them was that they were two total opposites; wonjin: dropped out of high school, lives alone and has had his wild share of life, while jungmo: had always excelled in everything, soon to be CEO of his father's business, has lived a mostly sheltered life.

yet amidst these differences both of them could find a piece of comfort in one another. and though they had only met less than 24 hours ago, it feels as though they have known each other for ages.

"i think i really need to get going now," jungmo says as he grabs the paper bag filled with the suit he had on from the previous night. now drowned in wonjin's black hoodie and sweatpants, jungmo could not even remember when was the last time he was allowed to dress down. even at home, he always had to be conscious about how he dressed, afraid his father would nitpick at it.

wonjin smiles, then opens his arms to give jungmo a little hug, "it was nice meeting you, i'm glad i could help"

jungmo returns the hug and then gestures to his phone, "thank you, a lot. i'll call you soon"

"see you again, wonjin"

\------

"yeah so if you bring that over-"

a buzz from his phone interrupts as jungmo immediately pauses as soon as he sees the notification.

_Ham Wonjin_

"something came up?" minhee asks, trying to sneak a peek at the phone. 

jungmo tries to play pretend and shakes his head, but his eyes keep going back to the text message.

_hey, i'm in the area, wanna grab lunch together?_

minhee then lets out a small chuckle as he playfully gestures with his hand to shoo jungmo away, "go on, this person seems important"

jungmo gives him an apologetic look, then shakes his head and puts his phone away, "but we have an hour left for this session... it's okay let's just finish this up"

the younger then shakes his head and lets out a sigh as he leans back on his chair seat, "oh come on you know i already know all of these... my mom just thinks having you tutor me would help me get better grades but no i'm just not giving it to her"

jungmo looks at him and sighs, knowing all too well how he feels. 

"and i know you're smart minhee. you know i'm doing this only for my father too"

they then exchange a look of sympathy for each other.

"guess this is just how this industry works"

minhee sighs then grins again before pushing jungmo away, "anyways, just go and meet whoever this person is, i'll just tell my mom i asked you to leave earlier because i'm not feeling well or something.. go, shoo"

jungmo, unable to retaliate, simply gives a look of thanks to minhee and pats his head before leaving.

grabbing his phone, he quickly texts back,

_sure, i'm on my way. see you_

\------

wonjin looks the same as always - dressed in all black again. except this time, he has his hair styled. jungmo finds himself smiling unknowingly as soon as he sees the familiar figure by the table.

from afar, wonjin looked so intimidating. with his dress style and his resting face, he always looks mad. but as soon as he sees jungmo's face, all of that immediately falls as he flashes him the biggest smile, glad to see him again. 

"so, has everything been okay so far?" wonjin asks, pushing the cup of iced tea to jungmo - after having multiples meals with him now, he's grown to notice that it was his favourite drink.

jungmo smiles and nods his head, assuring him that it was all good. except, it wasn't, but he didn't want to worry wonjin.

truth is, his father had been telling him off the past weeks for not being home as often anymore, and for all the times jungmo had been meeting up with wonjin, he had missed several important business events as well.

but it didn't matter to him at all. instead, he was happy - happy that he finally had someone to confide in, someone he could call a friend. if there was any other way he could express it, there was finally someone who loves him the same way he does. 

for once in his entire life, he felt human.

wonjin grins at these words, then replies, "then i'm glad"

he then pulls up his phone and shows a picture to jungmo, "also look what came just now, you wanna come over to play it one day?"

jungmo's eyes immediately fill up with excitement as he zooms into the picture to admire the beautiful guitar. without having the need to think, he immediately nods his head, "well can i go over after this then, i am excited"

to this, wonjin chuckles and agrees.

for the most part of his childhood, jungmo had always dreamt of being a musician. playing music, especially on the guitar, was always a form of escapism for him.

before his parents had split, his mother used to always bring him to guitar classes, and he remembers the sheer excitement he felt when he received his first guitar.

but all of that came pouring down after the split, for his father, who had always been opposing of this dream, completely took control of jungmo's life. he banned him from going to music classes, got rid of all of his guitars and removed anything related to music in his life.

and for this, it is just one of the many reasons why his hatred for his dad only grew.

so when jungmo noticed a guitar sitting in wonjin's place one day while they were hanging out, he was delighted. though it took some persuasion, the little performance that wonjin gave him was more than enough to sweep jungmo off his feet.

wonjin and music - he could never think of a better combination.

since then, wonjin had been giving him small little lessons here and there, and many of the days they had spent together were just afternoons strumming to melodies. the childhood dream that jungmo had long buried slowly came rising back up again.

as for wonjin, the pure excitement and happiness that jungmo always has in his eyes when it comes to the guitar always amused him. many of times too, he found his heart swelling up too - swelling up with both love and adoration. 

seeing how much jungmo seemed so passionate about music, he had then made the rash decision to gift him something. blowing out almost half of his hard earned savings, he'd ordered a guitar for jungmo, one in his favourite colour.

though he'd called himself crazy after he realised what he just did, he couldn't help but be excited as well, both to see jungmo's reaction and from his own happiness.

now holding on delicately to the new piece of wood, jungmo's eyes admired every inch of the guitar in his hands. his eyes sparkled while his smile grew wider. wonjin watches from the side as he feels his heart thump against his chest.

"why'd you suddenly get a new guitar? wasn't your old one working fine?" jungmo asks, eyes still glued to the guitar.

wonjin lets out a small chuckle before shaking his head and gesturing to his own guitar bag in the corner of the room, "yeah it's perfectly fine"

jungmo looks at him puzzled.

"actually, i got this for you" he manages to mumble out, heat rising to his cheeks slowly. 

jungmo stares at him dumbfolded while he shakes his head, "no way..." when wonjin doesn't say anything else but nods his head, he feels a gush of emotions take over him.

well knowing wonjin's financial state and background, jungmo instantly feels overwhelmed - overwhelmed that someone was willing to sacrifice so much for him. 

without a second thought, he immediately engulfs wonjin into a tight hug, tears unknowingly filling up the brim of his eyes as he pulled him closer. wonjin, taken back, tenses up but softens at jungmo's touch.

"you didn't need to do this, wonjin..." jungmo softly mumbles.

wonjin simply smiles and replies, "if it makes you happy, it's worth it"

jungmo feels the same adrenaline rush take over his body again, and before he could control, his body acted on its own as he turned to give wonjin a peck on the cheek. 

the latter, immediately flustered, turns bright red as he doesn't know what to say.

jungmo continues, arms still around wonjin, "god i love you so much"

this time, wonjin actually processes everything that has happened. his face turns pink again, but now he purses his lips as he replies awkwardly, but sincerely, "i.... love you too"

\------

wonjin stares widely, mouth agape as he tries to internalise every detail of jungmo's room. his room itself was larger than the entirety of wonjin's apartment. 

lined with things he could never in his lifetime afford, wonjin kept his arms to himself as he stuck close to jungmo, afraid he'd break something.

"hey, just be yourself" jungmo says once he notices wonjin stance, taking his hand in his to calm him down. 

wonjin smiles in return then takes a seat down on the leather couch as he continues looking around, still as mesmerised as before. 

jungmo then takes a seat beside him, slips his arms around wonjin's waist, then leans his head on his shoulder. taking in a deep breath, wonjin's cologne hits him strongly - but it's a scent he likes - as he snuggles closer before closing his eyes, "it feels nice that you're finally in my home"

wonjin's body naturally reacts to jungmo's touch as both his arms pull him close. all the nervousness he just felt seconds ago instantly fades away, and all he has in his mind right now is the embrace of jungmo. 

"and i'm happy i'm finally here too"

the two stay in this position for minutes, none wanting to let go.

in the corner of his eye wonjin catches a glimpse of two photo frames side by side. one of them, a full family portrait - a couple dressed in classy and formal clothes, posing with hands on each other's shoulders, while a small boy stood smiling happily in his mini tuxedo. even back then, jungmo's smile was still as bright. beside this photo frame stood another one - this time, it was only jungmo and his father. there's an awkward gap between the two, and unlike the bright smile of the young boy, jungmo's smile here was superficial, small and forced. instantly, wonjin felt his heart aching for jungmo again. 

coincidentally, a knock breaks the comforting silence. "come in," jungmo calls out, slowly loosening himself from wonjin.

from the door enters a middle-aged man dressed in a suit, and immediately wonjin recognises the familiar face he just saw from the photo frame. he stands up from his seat then bows slightly.

"you didn't tell me you were bringing a guest over?" jungmo's father asked before holding out his hand to wonjin before continuing, "nice to meet you"

wonjin shakes his hand as he keeps his head low before replying softly, "nice to meet you too, mr koo. i'm wonjin, ham wonjin"

jungmo's father then smiles and continues, "ham... hmm i haven't heard any families with that name, what do your parents do?" 

wonjin immediately gets flustered by this question as he opens his eyes wide in surprise, unsure of what to answer. jungmo, who quickly notices, pulls wonjin closer towards him before feigning a smile to his father, "we can have this conversation another day, father. would you mind if we have some private time alone?"

his father raises his eyebrows, eyes wonjin from head to toe once more before smiling back, "sure"

with that, he walks out of the room.

the moment he leaves, jungmo throws his arms around wonjin then pats his back, "i'm sorry, i hope you can just ignore what he said"

wonjin, understanding but deep down still flustered, takes a deep breath in and nods his head, "i'm fine, don't worry"

jungmo then quickly runs to his television console and points to his collection of DVDs, "movie and cuddling time?"

with that, wonjin's heart instantly feels lighter. he makes his way to the spot beside jungmo then opens his arms wide again, "you know i'd never say no to cuddling time"

\------

"how did you even meet a person like him?" 

jungmo feels the rage in him rise as soon as he hears this sentence. gritting his teeth and tightening his fist, he tries to suppress his anger towards the man in front of him.

"it doesn't matter. all that matters is i'm happy with him and i want to be with him" jungmo retorts.

his father lets out a scoff, then throws a stack of paper onto the ground in front of him.

"he doesn't have any parents, dropped out of high school, has had records in police stations and you're telling me you want to be with a person like him?"

jungmo glances at the stack of papers - all of wonjin's history and his photos laid out in front of him. he takes a gulp down as he tries to take in deep breaths.

when jungmo doesn't reply, his father continues, "what would everyone else think if they saw you hanging out with someone like him? it's not good for us, not good for the company and not good for anything."

at this instance, jungmo's patience has reached its limits as he slams his hands down on his father table, eyes full of anger and frustration, "and so what? i'd rather spend my life with someone who can make me genuinely happy rather than a man i can't even call my father or some stupid company-"

a slap towards jungmo's cheek cuts him off.

"take back what you said, young man."

tears now falling, jungmo bites his lips then turns around without saying anything else. he stomps towards the door, but before he leaves, he stops and says, "i will continue seeing wonjin until the day i die. if you're not happy with that, i won't be your son anymore. i'm fine with that"

with that, he leaves the room and in a second, all of his tears start pouring out as he starts to feel his knees get weak. he clenches his now aching heart as he tries to catch his breath, but only chokes on air the more he tries. mind clustered with so many thoughts and emotions right now, he falls to the floor and tucks his head in his legs.

\------

wonjin immediately tears up as soon as he sees the state jungmo is in. he wasn't expecting him at all this very night, all the more to see him in this state. 

but he didn't need jungmo to explain anything - he already knew the cause of jungmo's sadness this very night. 

without saying a word, he pulls jungmo in to his apartment and embraces him in a big, warm hug. at times like these, he knew that all jungmo needed was a sense of love and a sense of comfort - all in which wonjin is more than willing to give.

he continues rubbing his back until he hears jungmo's breathing become much slower, and he leans down to give him a kiss on the forehead to calm him down anymore.

"thank you, as always" jungmo manages to mumble through his stifled breaths. wonjin gives him a comforting smile and brushes his cheek, "it's the least i can do"

wonjin then slowly lets go of jungmo as he reaches both hands behind his neck to unclasp his necklace. jungmo looks at him confused but doesn't say a word.

he then loops the necklace around jungmo's neck, clasps it tight and lets it dangle. 

"what are you doing-"

wonjin takes jungmo's hand in his, leans down to give it a kiss and smiles, "i'm giving it to you. i can't be with you 24/7 so i hope this necklace would make you feel better at those times."

jungmo furrows his eyebrows, "but it's your mother's... this means the world to you-"

wonjin shakes his head and cuts him off, "but you're my world now"

jungmo's eyes fill up with tears again as he finds himself crying, pulling wonjin closer to him. in his muffled voice against wonjin's chest, he says, "i love you so much"

wonjin feels a tear roll down his own cheek as he pats jungmo's head, "i love you so much too"

\------

"come on.... please reply me wonjin...." jungmo chants to himself once more, palms pressed together tightly. he lets out a frustrated groan when he looks at his phone again, _last seen 17 hours ago_.

wonjin has never taken this long to reply, and even if he did, jungmo was sure he'd inform him. 

so when jungmo did not receive a reply after hours, he started to worry. and now that almost a day has passed and still no replies from him, jungmo was worried sick. 

all of his calls did not go through, and even on all of wonjin's socials he did not reply. 

jungmo bites his lips as his hand instinctively reaches up to rub the pendant of the necklace around his neck.

"please be fine wonjin, please be fine" jungmo mumbles to himself again, head now buzzing with the different possible scenarios. _did his father send people down to hurt wonjin? is he kidnapped?_

he lets out another groan and pulls his hair in frustration. he then grabs his phone, his car keys then rushes out to his car.

after what felt like hours, jungmo finally reaches wonjin's apartment building. he looks up to see wonjin's unit - all the lights are shut off. the uneasy feeling creeps up to jungmo again but he brushes it off, praying that he's just asleep.

finally reaching the door, he takes a deep breath in before knocking on it.

one knock. two knocks. no answer.

"wonjin? it's me" he calls out. still nothing.

jungmo then sighs before keying in the passcode to the door.

as soon as he enters, the apartment is empty. everything jungmo was all so familiar with has disappeared. only the furniture remained.

jungmo stares in disbelief and he feels anxiety take over him and the next thing he knew, tears are falling again. he then stands up to check the unit number - it is wonjin's apartment. 

jungmo lifts his phone up to dial wonjin, but when it doesn't go through again, he lets out a cry as he falls to the ground, hand running through his hair.

genuinely lost and afraid, he curls up into a foetus position as the tears cannot stop falling. clenching his stinging chest, he chokes out the words, "where are you wonjin, please come back"

\------

it's been a week and there is still no news from wonjin. jungmo has locked himself up in his room for the past week, having no appetite or even the mood to do anything.

he had confronted his father about the matter, sure that he had something to do with it. and though he did confess that he asked wonjin to cut off all ties with jungmo, he did not say anything about what happened next or where wonjin went.

ever since that day, he hasn't been talking to his father.

jungmo's mind fills up with dark clouds again.

_you couldn't have cut all ties with me, right? where did you go, wonjin? where could you possibly go?_

in the reflection in the mirror jungmo notices the sparkle on his neck. his hand reaches up to hold it again. soon, the tears come rolling down again as he buries his face in his hands, "this necklace isn't enough, wonjin.. i need you"

\------

the ringtone from his phone wakes him up his sleep. groggily, he rubs his eyes and looks at the clock.

_3:22AM_

but jungmo's eyes immediately widens when he realises that his phone is ringing - a sound he's been wishing to hear for the past week, from a certain someone.

he quickly picks up in his phone in anticipation, but frowns when he sees the unknown number. he contemplates whether or not pick it up, but decides to.

"hello, who's this?" jungmo asks in his sleepy and disappointed tone.

there's a moment of silence.

"hello?" jungmo calls out again.

still no reply.

he lets out a sigh and reaches up to press the hang up button but then he hears a familiar voice coming from the other line.

"jungmo... i-it's me.."

jungmo's heart stops at the familiar voice and his lips tremble as he holds his phone back up to his ears, "wonjin..?"

"yes baby it's me"

he feels his breath fasten as he tries to hold back his tears, "where have you been? where did you go? what happened? god i have so many things i want to say to you- i missed you so much"

he hears a stifled cry from the other line of the phone as well but wonjin only replies, "and i have so many things i want to tell you too.. but firstly, i'm sorry"

"where are you right now?" jungmo quickly asks, worried. he's already putting his hoodie on, ready to leave even before wonjin's reply.

"i'll text you the address"

with that, jungmo rushes out, heart racing.

\------

jungmo is finally in wonjin's arms again, and suddenly all of the fear, anxiety and sadness he had felt for the past few days have disappeared.

the walls to this house are painted in cream white, and the wooden tiles and warm-coloured furniture only exhibited more warmth. though it's in the wee hours of the morning, everything seemed so bright in here.

a big picture frame sits atop the television on the wall, and in it sits middle-schooler wonjin sitting on his mother's lap.

jungmo smiles at this sight. _he has his mother's beautiful eyes._

"so... you're gonna stay here from now onwards?" jungmo asks softly, playing with wonjin's fingers.

for the past hour, the two had been spilling endless vomits of words to each other and embracing one another nonstop. that was also how jungmo found out that after his father had threatened wonjin, he had no other choice but to cut off every social media account, even his phone and to move to a new place - his old house.

all of these was just so he could continue contacting jungmo, without having to fear being caught again.

wonjin smiles and corrects him, "actually.. WE will be staying here from now on"

jungmo sits up immediately and looks at him confused. he raises his eyebrows, waiting for wonjin to continue.

wonjin doesn't say anything, but makes his way to his room before returning with his hands behind his back.

jungmo furrows his brows.

wonjin then kneels to the ground, pulls out a small box from behind his back and looks at jungmo with teary eyes, "i know this ring isn't much, and i know i probably can't offer you much in this life, but i really want to be by your side and your happiness means everything to me. are you willing to be my partner for life?"

jungmo's jaw drops as he feels his vision start to get blurry again - tears have formed again. but this time, it's happy tears.

jungmo does not need to say a word. he simply jumps forward to engulf wonjin in a hug and kisses him on the lips, not wanting to let go.

\------

jungmo takes in a deep breath and looks the gadget in front of him with sad eyes one last time before tossing it into the bin. he takes one last look around his room - the place he's spent all his life in but also one that has never felt like a home.

he feels a sting to his chest.

he walks out to peek into his father's room, where he is sleeping soundly. but he doesn't feel an itch of guilt or regret at all, instead, he simply turns around and pulls his luggages along with him.

as soon as he steps out of his house, he feels as though the heavy weight that has been on his shoulders his whole life has been lifted.

he glances towards his car and in the passenger sits the love of his life, smiling and waving at him.

jungmo's heart now fills up with warmth and another genuine smile appears on his face.

"never thought i'd runaway from home but for you, it's worth it"


End file.
